Education department criticised over VCAL cuts

The Victorian auditor-general has strongly criticised the Education Department's advice that led to cuts to Victoria's vocational training program, VCAL.

The auditor-general's report says the department failed to give comprehensive, evidence-based advice, important research was ignored, and stakeholders, including schools, were not consulted about the changes.

It says the department did not have enough evidence to assess the impact of funding changes on schools' ability to meet growing demand for VCAL (the Victorian certificate of applied learning).

The decision to stop funding VCAL coordinators in schools will save the Government $12.3 million per year.

But the auditor-general says the department does not know how much it costs to deliver VCAL or whether schools can meet the demand for it.

The report says the impact of any reduction in course offerings is likely to have the most impact on students from a rural or disadvantaged areas.

The auditor-general has also found that the department has failed to significantly improve the number of students finishing school in the last decade.